Among the  thousand reasons that make an Italy holidays very peculiar, there is food. Italian food is higly reputed due to  its traditional quality and variety. Yet, as for the rest of western or westernising  countries, (I apologise for my bizarre neologism) a new  cooking trend has gained little by little more passionate fans, even in the conservative Italy: the fusion cuisine.  The most creative Italian chefs deals with fusion and try their best in order to create new appealing dishes, which invariably make use of ingredients from distant and different cooking stiles. Here is a good example! The Ristorante Clandestino chef is truly influenced by Japanese food and he is invariably able to produce some funny, inusual, always excellent, food combinations. To underline the concept, last but not least, the management of this cozy beach restaurant, called it SUSCI restaurant instead of SUSHI restaurant, but you won’t understand the pun unless you speak Italian!

I really appreciate  the very peculiar   process of falling into sleep and, possibly, dreaming. Every time it happens it is like setting sail softly bound to some still  unknow region of our mind or personality. And as for  every real journey, we actually cannot plan much of what we are going to find into those deep regions. But alas!  At last we always wake up a bit confused by the dreams we dreamed or by their absence: what occurred to us while asleep has the power to determine our daily mood. I believe that every traumatic waking up could be positively overcome by some music or natural sound, so please avoid every alarm clocks even if you must wake up at 3 am because of your most recent late deals holidays ! Here is a lovely haiku by the japanese master Ryusui: “the nightingale’s sweet trill, The splash of ripples on the shore And all the rest is still”. What a way to wake up !

Illustration Fridays topic is: asleep

Is Bangkok  the number one destination among  cheap package holidays? It’s hard to say ; indeed  this big city makes several thousand tourists welcome every year. Despite its monstrous traffic jam, pollution and hot climate, as for any other metropolis Bangokok has got a subtle appeal to many visitors, something which is not so clear at first. I’m not talking about the red light district, with its sex traps, or the striking shopping centres where once can buy whatever  stuff he is looking for. No, i’m thinking to some Bangkok pecularities that made this place unique among travellers from the late ’60. One of them certainly was the John Fowler shop on Pleonchit at Silom Road / Convent Road corner. Fowler really started a minor empire and expanded to other stores including Pattaya. What am I talking about? T-shirts off course, great t-shirts with original topics such as in the Golden Triangle series, or the Indian Gods series, or old Chinese images. There was another series with Thai Folk art like baskets and jars. Unfortunately my few old Fowler’s t-shirt  got lost. These days it seems difficult to get a Fowler’s original, so I made my decision and now I’m working on a few t-shirt drawings in the Fowler style: here is one of them.

There is no better time than winter to  win and wear a pair of trendy Whooga ugg boots! Even in Himalayan valleys Whooga are quickly gaining recognition among fashonable women as a popular alternative brand of sheepskin boots with their legendary thick Thermofleece foot bed. Simply follow them on Twitter or sign up to their newsletter. If you’re not feeling too lucky and can’t wait until the end of the month for the prize draw then enter the following for an exclusive 10% discount (valid for the next week) 492EE40DC29“

I like to edit again an old post written on November the 22, 2006…this fellow had a totally anti-routine life…it’s worth taking a look at his “biography” that my friend Gino edited recently in his blog.
Enjoy!

Among the strange people that I met, Max Maxwell is certainly the most unfathomable. I firstly met Max in Boracay Island in 1990. Max came from Bombay and belongs to the Parsee upper-class.
At that time he was a fit, middle aged man who enjoyed beach-tennis, wind surfing and excellent Italian food. He basically travelled between Boracay, Koh Lanta, Laddak and Hong Kong, making his earn out of fashionable batik-shirts, rattan-bags, Tibetan amulets and first rate (yet fake) Ray-Ban sunglasses. Max had an enormous ego, he was desperately scornful and selfish and, for some reason, he always surprised me. He had seen the World, that was the fact! When some harmless tourist, tried to approach him by asking silly questions such us “have you been…?”, Max’s provocative answer simply was: “thanks for not talking to me!”. And that was all. As I said Max loved food and he was among Gino’s selected acquaintances.
At that time Gino ran the cosiest restaurant in Boracay -according to Max’s parameters- and one day at Gino’s, for some unpredictable reason, Max allowed himself to talk to me! Max abhorred “stupid talks” but, after a good beer (he used to sip beer always by the same special glass that he-himself carried in a bag), Gino and I had the chance of glancing over his wonderful life. Finally Max decided to present Gino his photocopied “biography“. The document (his masterpiece) stated the man “born in Bombay during a devastating cyclone” and amazingly went on with Max ”making friends with Miles Davis, art-directing Vogue Magazine, etc”. I still have the rattan-bag that he sold me and still I wear those fake Ray-Ban sunglasses;  Gino and I still disputed about his reliability, his clever scorn and puzzling behaviour, until on December 8, 2006 we  received a stunning report:

BREAKING NEWS:
MAX MAXWELL DIES IN GOA AFTER COMMITTING SUICIDE. HE LEFT A NOTE IN WICH HE SAYS :
“DON’T BE SORRY FOR ME. I’M THE ONE TO DECIDE MY TIME WAS OVER”

Illustration Friday ’s topic is: routine

Modern Singapore is a city of concrete, glass, freeways and shopping centres.This city state is one of the Asia’s four “dragons”- the Asian economic boom coutries. The fact that so many western expats live and work in Singapore, lies exactly in its thriving economy, altough the place itself is really nothing special and the main interest for the population is usually (and simply) taking rest from the hustle bustle of everyday life as soon as possible. As an architect I have been frantically working in Singapore for several months and got damn bored in the week ends. On these occasions the best thing that ever happened to me, was visiting the city’s parks; among them is the Singapore Botanic Gardens, a botanical institution, a tourist attraction, a popular place with photographers, with its unique collection of orchids and a beautiful lotus lake…
While sitting and contemplating by the lake, Japanese poet Yugen’s haiku ironically resounded in my mind:
“Ah! If one could but make a clear and flowing river of this stagnant lotus lake!”

Illustration Friday‘s topic is: garden

AYNAKU’s 2008 calendar is now available on line at AYNAKU shop.
The calendar’s twelve plates are drawn after the traditional Japanese Ukyio-e wood block prints.
The joyful atmosphere, of Ukyio-e, or “the floating word”, is brought to you by means of contemporary digital technique.
Each illustration goes with a traditional Haiku, (a short, seventeen syllable verses) that enhances the graphic work…

Red groupers typically have a stout body and a large mouth. They are not built for long-distance fast swimming. They can be quite large, usually largest fish of the grouper family, and their body, soft dorsal and anal fins, are covered with scales and thick skin.
Lapu Lapu is the Pilipino name for red grouper. In the archipelago they are important food fish.
As most other fish species which are sold in the market (talipapa) groupers are generally sold very fresh and, sometimes almost alive…The flesh is snowy white and can be cooked either as filets cut thin or as steaks cut thick.

Illustration Friday’s topic is: scales

This is Zheng He the great Ming navigator wearing his favourite straw hat….
Between 1405 and 1433, the Ming government sponsored a series of seven naval expeditions and Zheng He was placed as the admiral in control of the huge fleet.
Zheng He’s first voyage consisted of a fleet of 317 ships holding almost 28,000 armed troops. Many of these ships were by far the largest marine craft the world had ever seen. On the first three voyages, Zheng He visited southeast Asia, India, and Sri Lanka. The fourth expedition went to the Persian Gulf and Arabia, and later expeditions ventured down the east African coast, as far as what is now Kenya.
Recently a map has come to light that may support the thesis that the Chinese admiral discovered America before Colombus…

Illustration Friday’s topic is: hat

Hotei – one of the seven gods of happiness, is also the happy god of abundance and good health. Hotei is also seen carrying a large bag over his shoulder that is said to contain gifts and fortunes for those who believe in his virtues.
He is distinguished by his body of generous proportions and round stomach exposed beneath loose robes.
As a wandering jovial monk, a spiritual activist who travels about transforming the sadness in the hearts of people, Hotei is a genuine symbol of of spiritual growt…

Illustration Friday‘s topic is: grow